Monday, November 21, 2011

Presale Sasquatch 2012 four day passes go on sale Friday, November 25th, at 10:00 a.m. The presale ends at the stroke of midnight as 2011 comes to a close. General tickets go on sale Saturday, February 11th (2012) at 10:00 a.m., so expect the lineup to be announced Sunday, February 5th. The four day pass will cost $290. As mentioned in the previous post, the festival will take place May 25th to May 28th.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Alright, Halloween has come and gone, November is here, and that means Sasquatch season has officially started.

Dates: The dates have yet to be confirmed, but the festival always takes place over Memorial Day Weekend. The fourth day was a let down last year, so it's 50/50 it will be back. We can safely say the festival will be held at least May 26th to 28th. UPDATE: The festival will again be four days in 2012, and will include re-entry for wristband holders. Dates will be May 25th to May 29th.

Tickets: Last year tickets went on sale November 20th, two days after the Foo Fighters were announced as a headliner. The previous year, tickets went on sale November 7th, when Pavement was announced as a (sort of) headliner. Massive Attack ended up headlining that day. Previous years, tickets went on sale after the lineup was announced in late February. Even when the Cure were announced as the 2008 headliner near Halloween the previous year, tickets didn't go on sale early.

Lineup: The lineup was announced February 7th last year. In previous years, it was announced the day after Presidents Day, which is February 20th next year. If you put a squirt gun to my head, I would bet my dryness the lineup will be announced in February 2012.

Headliners: While Sasquatch used to rely on giant headliners and a below average undercard, the recent trend has been picking headliners who aren't big enough to headline the biggest festivals in the States (aside from the Foo Fighters), giving the subheadliner type of bands their name in lights. I see the 2012 headliners going one of two directions.

Scenario 2: One gigantic headliner, with the other headliners being bands who could sell (+/-) 3,000 tickets, then not selling single day passes. Under this scenario, there would be one giant headliner, with the others being bands like Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, Primus, Foster The People, and Justice. If you want to see the huge draw, you have to buy a full festival pass, which would guarantee the off days will sell at the same rate.

I think the second scenario is the way to go next year, so here is where we talk about Radiohead and Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam is working on a new album, which makes it likely they will tour after it's released. It's doubtful, but possible. Radiohead is touring next spring, and are a favorite of Adam Zacks based on Guerilla Candy's interview several years ago. Radiohead will play a NW show next year, and played the White River Amphitheater last time through, which isn't that neat of a venue. They could play there again, pick a giant arena, or play the Gorge. Festivals make a lot more money than individual shows, so paying Radiohead or Pearl Jam roughly the same amount they would make playing their own show at the Gorge makes sense for both sides. Radiohead/Pearl Jam would reach an audience they otherwise wouldn't at their own show, and the festival will make more money on the off days forcing more people to pay to attend. The underdog "huge draw" would be the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Sell Out?: No, I mean will tickets for the festival sell out. Sorry for the confusion. Many feel Sasquatch 2012 will sell out regardless of the lineup. I disagree. Yes, the festival sold out early again this year, but those crafty folks at Ticketmaster kept a handful of passes on their sister site, TicketsNow, which is basically them scalping their own tickets for increased profit. When those tickets didn't sell out, they put the passes back on sale for regular price on their main site a couple weeks before the festival. Those paying attention could have bought a four day pass for nearly $100 less than face value, because the market was saturated with more tickets than people wanting to change their holiday plans. Conclusion, the festival will need a much better lineup, or a giant headliner to guarantee a sell out in 2012.

Rumors/Confirmations: These will be updated at the top of this blog, so it's easy to find. We'll only have a couple in the next month, but they should start rolling in rather frequently starting in mid December.

Who do you think will headline Sasquatch 2012? Do you think there will be a giant headliner? Post your early predictions in the comments below.